The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/117,118 filed on Jan. 25, 1999, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
The present invention relates to electronic commerce via the Internet. More specifically, the present invention relates to the facilitation of transactions between buyers and sellers on the World Wide Web.
Electronic commerce on the Internet, and specifically the World Wide Web, promises to transformi the economic landscape in ways which have not yet been contemplated. Consumers and corporate buyers already have online access to a staggering variety of goods and services from a wide range of merchants and service providers. They may electronically search through vast inventories to easily and conveniently find products to fit their needs, often at a significant savings over traditional commerce. They may also initiate and complete transactions online simply by identifying a product and submitting a payment identifier such as a credit card or purchasing account to the appropriate web site.
Electronic commerce also offers a number of advantages to the merchant or service provider. Offering products online avoids all of the overhead associated with operating retail or wholesale locations. In addition, online sellers do not need to anticipate the inventory needs of a number of different geographic locations. In fact, inventory may be centralized and precisely and automatically monitored and adjusted according to transaction data which are gathered virtually instantaneously. Moreover, the World Wide Web has the potential for making a particular seller""s goods or services available to anyone, any time, anywhere on the planet. The cost savings and the market access associated with these advantages combine to give online sellers a significant competitive edge over their more traditional counterparts.
Given the obvious potential of electronic commerce and the rapidly increasing traffic at web sites engaging in electronic commcrce, it""s no surprise that there is a demand for technical solutions by which electronic commerce transactions may be facilitated and made more efficient. Such solutions range from increasing the speed and efficiency with which data are transferred over the Internet to improving search engine capabilities to creating more user-friendly interfaces. Unfortunately, all of the solutions presented to date have not been able to reproduce an important part of traditional commerce and its attendant advantages for both sellers and buyers. That is, none of today""s electronic commerce solutions allows for the give and take of a traditional negotiation between individual sellers and buyers.
An example of one solution for facilitating transactions between a buyer and one or more sellers is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,207 for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CRYPTOGRAPHICALLY ASSISTED COMMERCIAL NETWORK SYSTEM DESIGNED TO FACILITATE BUYER-DRIVEN CONDITIONAL PURCHASE OFFER issued on Aug. 1, 1998, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. In that patent, a system is described by which a prospective buyer communicates a binding purchase offer globally to a plurality of sellers. The offer is made binding by requiring the buyer to submit a payment identifier such as, for example, a credit card. Any of the potential sellers may then bind the buyer by accepting the offer.
It is clear that such a solution does not resemble a traditional negotiation. In traditional situations, a prospective buyer can make a conditional offer which may be countered by the seller which may again be countered by the buyer. Traditionally, neither party is bound until both agree upon a price. In this way, the exact price may be identified at which a transaction could proceed as between the two specific parties. It will be understood that the ability to identify this price for any two parties in an efficient manner would be of potentially great value to both buyers and sellers. That is, buyers would be getting the product they want for the price they are willing to pay, while sellers would be effecting a greater number of sales due to their ability to engage in price discrimination.
There are, however, some attendant disadvantages associated with allowing buyers to submit non-biding bids. For example, if there are no consequences to the buyer for submitting a bid, many bids may be submitted by a single buyer or a small group of buyers solely for the purpose of manipulating the market for a particular product. Moreover, resources may be wasted by a seller in pursuing a proliferation of non-serious bids. As discussed above, one solution is to require that a buyer submit a credit card number before he may submit a bid, and further to assess some financial penalty against the buyer""s credit card if the buyer abandons the negotiation. Unfortunately, this may serve as a barrier to entry for many buyers in that they are much less likely to conduct simultaneous negotiations with a number of merchants under these conditions.
It is therefore desirable to provide an electronic commerce solution by which individual buyers may negotiate online in a traditional and non-biding manner with one or more sellers.
According to the present invention, an electronic commerce solution is provided for facilitating online transactions which allows traditional negotiation between a buyer and a seller to occur. According to a specific embodiment, a web site is provided having individual private graphical user interfaces, e.g., web pages, for buyers and sellers. A buyer gains access to his private interface with a user ID and password. The buyer""s interface allows him to search a proprietary database for current product information for a variety of products being offered for sale by a number of sellers. The product information includes, for example, the name of the seller and an ask price and/or a list price for the product as specified by the seller. The buyer may save the product information for any products in which he is interested to one or more shopping lists which become part of his interface.
According to a specific embodiment, the buyer may share his shopping list(s) with friends or co-workers to solicit feedback on the various products, sellers, ask prices, etc. The shopping list may be sent in an e-mail as, for example, an HTML table in which the addressee may insert his comments. Alternatively, persons from whom feedback is desired may be notified by c-mail and given access to the buyer""s shopping list on the web site itself. In this way, a buyer may solicit advice or approval before initiating a transaction.
For each product saved in the shopping list a bid button is provided, activation of which causes a bid interface to be presented by which the buyer may submit a non-binding bid to the seller of that particular product. Alternatively, the bid interface may be in the shopping list itself. According to a specific embodiment, the bid is made available to a number of different sellers offering the same product. The sellers are xe2x80x9cdifferentxe2x80x9d in that they include a large number of independent economic entities. This is to be distinguished from other sites in which the xe2x80x9csellersxe2x80x9d are all just representatives of a single economic entity. Making the bids available to different economic entities increases the likelihood that at least one of them can offer a price acceptable to the buyer. Using the shopping list, the buyer may make a number of bids for the same or different products to a number of different sellers simultaneously.
According to a specific embodiment of the invention, even though the buyer""s bids are non-binding, there is nevertheless a consequence for submitting frivolous bids. That is, the transaction site of the present invention may be configured to track a buyer""s xe2x80x9creputationxe2x80x9d by tracking the buyer""s transaction behavior. For example, the number of bids submitted by a particular buyer could be related to the number of bids honored or reneged upon by that buyer, and an objective value could be generated therefrom indicative of the buyer""s xe2x80x9creputation.xe2x80x9d According to a specific embodiment, the metric is simply the number of offers honored less the number reneged, a large positive value representing a xe2x80x9cgoodxe2x80x9d reputation and a large negative value representing a xe2x80x9cbadxe2x80x9d one. According to another embodiment, the metric is based on the number of times a buyer honors acceptance of his bids. According to yet another embodiment, the metric is based on the percentage of the buyers bids which are eventually consummated. It will be understood that a variety of data could be used to generate a metric indicative of a buyer""s transaction behavior and that the present invention is not limited to the few examples described here.
Each buyer""s reputation is made available to sellers on the site for use as they see fit. For example, a seller could choose to respond only to bids from buyers who have a reputation which is of a certain level. Alternatively, a seller could choose to respond unfavorably to such buyers, thus giving the buyer immediate feedback and incentive to adjust her bid accordingly. In addition, a seller could give preferential treatment, e.g., discounts, to buyers with very good reputations. Thus, buyers would tend to conduct transactions in a responsible manner to protect their reputations from being damaged and to receive preferential treatment. This approach has many of the advantages of requiring a credit card or other payment identifier without presenting a significant barrier to entry and without making simultaneous negotiation impracticable.
Each seller having products in the proprietary database also has access to a private interface on the web site with which an authorized representative of the seller may have access to all of the currently outstanding bids to that seller for any of the products offered by the seller. According to a specific embodiment, bids to other sellers for products offered by the seller are also available on the seller""s private interface. The seller may respond manually to any of the posted bids or, alternatively, the seller may specify a set of business rules according to which automated responses to the posted bids are generated. The response to a bid may be an acceptance of the bid or a counteroffer.
According to various embodiments, market information is displayed along with the list of current bids to help the seller with responding to any or all of the bids, i.e., decision-making support. In one embodiment, demand data are graphically presented, i.e., in a demand curve, representing bids for a particular product to either the particular seller, or a number of different sellers. The seller (or the business rules specified by the seller) can then use the demand data to develop a strategy for responding to one or more bids. For example, a seller can determine how much to temporarily lower an ask price to effect a block deal.
Any bid responses from any sellers show up in the buyer""s private interface. According to one embodiment, the responses show up in the shopping list juxtaposed with the original ask price, i.e., the list price, and the buyer""s bid. If the seller""s response is an acceptance of the buyer""s bid, the buyer is enabled to complete the transaction if he so chooses. According to a particular embodiment, this is accomplished by means of an HTML link to the seller""s web site. Alternatively, the transaction site can make the buyer""s payment and shipping information available to the seller. If, on the other hand, the seller""s response is a counteroffer, the buyer may continue the negotiation in the manner described above until a mutually acceptable price is reached, or until the buyer or the seller terminates the negotiation.
As alluded to above, the buyer may conduct a number of simultaneous negotiations with different sellers for the same product or even multiple products. Therefore, according to a specific embodiment, a mechanism is provided by which negotiations with a number of sellers may be automatically terminated when the buyer reaches an agreement with any one seller. That is, the buyer may create a mutually exclusive group with which a plurality of outstanding bids and/or quote solicitations are associated. According to specific embodiments, the buyer creates a mutually exclusive group by designating one of his shopping lists as such a group. When an agreement is reached on any one of the bids or quote solicitations, all other negotiations for the products in the group are automatically terminated. According to various embodiments, such a mutually exclusive group can correspond to a variety of product-seller combinations. That is, a mutually exclusive group can identify one product and multiple sellers, multiple products and multiple sellers, multiple products and one seller, etc. This feature allows a buyer to place a number of simultaneous bids even though he intends to make only a single purchase.
Thus, the present invention provides methods and apparatus for facilitating a transaction between a buyer and one of a plurality of sellers via the Internet. Product information relating to a plurality of products meeting product criteria specified by the buyer is presented via the Internet. One of the plurality of sellers is associated with each of the products. A first bid from the buyer for a first one of the plurality of products is made available via the Internet to a first seller associated with the first product. A first bid response is presented via the Internet to the buyer. According to one embodiment, the first bid response is automatically presented according to response criteria specified by the first seller. Alternatively, the first bid response is presented according to a manually entered communication received from a representative of the first seller. Where the first bid response is an acceptance of the first bid, consummation of the transaction is facilitated. Where the first bid response is a counteroffer, further negotiation via the Internet between the buyer and the first seller is enabled.
According to other specific embodiments, methods and apparatus are provided for facilitating a transaction between a buyer and one of a plurality of sellers via the Internet. The buyer is enabled to negotiate substantially simultaneously with the plurality of sellers via the Internet. When an agreement is reached between the buyer and a first one of the plurality of sellers, negotiations between the buyer and others of the plurality of sellers are automatically terminated.
According to still other embodiments, methods and apparatus are provided for facilitating transactions via the Internet. Market information is made available to a seller via the Internet. The market information relates to a plurality of bids from a plurality of buyers. The seller is enabled to effect transactions via the Internet with a subset of the plurality of buyers based on the market information.
According to still further embodiments, methods and apparatus are provided for facilitating transactions via the Internet. A list of entities is received from a first entity via the Internet. A plurality of Internet transactions are monitored to determine when any of the entities on the list engages in one of the plurality of transactions. For each one of the plurality of transactions in which one of the entities engages, an economic benefit is automatically accrued to the first entity.
According to additional embodiments, methods and apparatus are provided for facilitating transactions between a buyer and a plurality of sellers via the Internet. Product information relating to a plurality of products meeting product criteria specified by the buyer is provided via the Internet. One of the plurality of sellers being associated with each of the products. In response to selection of one of the plurality of products by the buyer, the product information corresponding to the selected product is saved to a shopping list associated with the buyer. The shopping list enables the buyer to subsequently negotiate with selected ones of the plurality of sellers for selected ones of the plurality of products for which the product information has been saved.
According to other specific embodiments, methods and apparatus for facilitating a transaction between a buyer and at least one of a plurality of sellers via the Internet are provided. A plurality of conditional purchase offers from the buyer to a subset of the plurality of sellers is received. Each of the plurality of conditional purchase offers includes an offer price from the buyer. The plurality of conditional purchase offers are transmitted to the subset of the plurality of sellers after receiving a payment identifier. An acceptance responsive to one of the plurality of conditional purchase offers is received from a first one of the plurality of sellers. Negotiations between the buyer and others of the subset of plurality of sellers are automatically terminated in response to the acceptance in accordance with a mutually exclusive group defined by the buyer. A payment is then provided to the first seller using the payment identifier.
According to still other embodiments, a method for facilitating a transaction between a buyer and at least one of a plurality of sellers via the Internet is provided. Product information relating to a plurality of products meeting product criteria specified by the buyer is presented via the Internet. One of the plurality of sellers being associated with each of the products. In response to selection of one of the plurality of products by the buyer, the product information corresponding to the selected product is saved to a shopping list associated with the buyer. The shopping list enables the buyer to subsequently negotiate with selected ones of the plurality of sellers for selected ones of the plurality of products for which the product information has been saved. At least one conditional purchase offer from the buyer to a subset of the plurality of sellers is received. The at least one conditional purchase offer includes an offer price from the buyer. The at least one conditional purchase offer is transmitted to the subset of the plurality of sellers after receiving a payment identifier. An acceptance is received from a first one of the plurality of sellers. The acceptance is responsive to the at least one conditional purchase offer. A payment is provided to the first seller using the payment identifier.
Yet other embodiments of the present invention provide methods and apparatus for facilitating a transaction between a buyer and one of a plurality of sellers via the Internet. A request for quotes for a first product is presented to the plurality of sellers via the Internet. At least one response to the request for quotes is presented to the buyer from at least one of the plurality of sellers. Negotiation between the buyer and the at least one of the plurality of sellers is facilitated via the Internet. According to specific embodiments, the buyer is able to designate products in her shopping list for which postings are requests for quotes and products for which postings are conventional bids.
According to other embodiments, methods and apparatus for facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a first one of a plurality of sellers via the Internet are provided. A plurality of bids from the buyer for a plurality of different products are presented to the first seller. A bundle response from the first seller is presented to the buyer. The bundle response is for a subset of the plurality of different products, and is contingent upon purchase of all of the subset of the plurality of different products.
Methods and apparatus are also described herein for tracking transaction statistics on a transaction site on the Internet. According to these embodiments, transaction data are compiled for a buyer relating to at least one product purchased by the buyer via the transaction site. In one embodiment, the transaction data are presented to the buyer in response to a request from the buyer. According to a second embodiment, the transaction data are associated with market data regarding a current value for the at least one product. The market and transaction data are then presented to the buyer. According to a third embodiment, the transaction data are associated with product data representing at least one related product. Purchase of the at least one related product by the buyer is facilitated.
Further embodiments describe methods and apparatus for tracking transaction statistics on a transaction site on the Internet. Transaction data relating to at least one product are compiled for transactions between a plurality of buyers and sellers via the transaction site. At least one option price relating to the at least one product is determined based on the transaction data. Trading of options relating to the at least one product is facilitated based on the at least one option price. It should be noted that the transaction prices of the present invention may be analogized to stock prices in financial markets. Thus, according to the invention, transaction prices may be used to facilitate the trading of options in a manner similar to the trading of options in financial markets.
According to still further embodiments, methods and apparatus are provided for presenting information via a transaction site on the Internet to a seller regarding a plurality of bids from a plurality of buyers for a plurality of products. A list of the plurality of bids is presented to the seller. Each of the bids identifies an associated buyer and an associated product. In response to selection by the seller of a first product in the list, market information is presented to the seller representing a subset of the plurality of bids, each bid in the subset corresponding to the first product. Alternatively, in response to selection by the seller of a first buyer in the list, a subset of the plurality of bids is presented to the seller, each bid in the subset corresponding to the first buyer. According to a more specific embodiment, a bundle response from the seller is presented to the first buyer. The bundle response is contingent upon purchase of all of a subset of the plurality of products which correspond to the subset of the plurality of bids.
Methods and apparatus are also described for providing a transaction site on the Internet for listing products for sale in which both individuals and corporate entities are represented as sellers. During creation of a first product listing for a first individual, the first individual is asked whether he or she wants the first product listing posted to at least one remote site. Upon receiving an affirmative response from the first individual, the first product listing is posted to the at least one remote site. According to specific embodiments, such remote sites could include Usenet and/or free classified sites.
According to various embodiments, methods and apparatus are provided for facilitating transactions between a plurality of buyers and a plurality of sellers via a transaction site on the Internet. For each of a plurality of actions performed by a first one of the plurality of buyers via the transaction site, an account associated with the first buyer is credited with a corresponding economic benefit. The account is maintained at the transaction site. According to a specific embodiment, the economic benefits accrued in the account are useable by the buyer only in relation to transactions facilitated via the transaction site. According to another embodiment, the economic benefit could be cash or some other from of fungible credit.
Still other methods and apparatus are provided for facilitating transactions between a seller and a plurality of buyers via a transaction site on the Internet. Market information is made available to the seller via the Internet. The market information relates to a plurality of bids from the plurality of buyers for a particular product. An ask price presented to each of the plurality of buyers via the Internet is temporarily lowered in accordance with the market information to induce either acceptance by or further negotiation with each of the plurality of buyers.
Further methods and apparatus are provided for facilitating transactions between a seller and a plurality of buyers via a transaction site on the Internet. A plurality of bids from the plurality of buyers is made available to the seller via the Internet. Automatic responses to selected ones of the plurality of bids are made via the Internet according to response criteria previously specified by the seller. According to various embodiments, the response criteria comprise a plurality of independent rules which may be combined in a plurality of ways to effect responses to the bids. Information corresponding to the response criteria may be stored at the transaction site and/or at a second site remote from the transaction site, access to which is controlled by the seller.
According to further embodiments, methods and apparatus are provided for facilitating a process in a graphical user interface. An active object is presented in the graphical user interface, selection of which initiates the process. In response to selection of the active object, the active object is converted to a display object indicating completion of the process.
According to a various embodiments of the invention, graphical user interfaces are provided for facilitating a variety of functions. According to one embodiment, a graphical user interface is provided for facilitating transactions for a seller via the Internet. The graphical user interface includes a plurality of bids from a plurality of buyers and market information derived at least in part from the plurality of bids.
According to another embodiment, a graphical user interface is provided for facilitating transactions for a buyer via the Internet. The graphical user interface comprises a shopping list for storing product information relating to a plurality of products which meet product criteria specified by the buyer. The shopping list includes objects therein for enabling the buyer to negotiate with any of a plurality of sellers for selected ones of the plurality of products. It also allows buyers to add comments for any product or seller represented in the list. According to various embodiments, each shopping list associated with the buyer may contain an unlimited number of products or sellers. Shopping lists may also include mechanisms by which buyers may indicate whether the items in the list are independent or part of a mutually exclusive group. Buyers may also indicate that they want to solicit offers from sellers for any item/seller which is added to the list.
According to yet another embodiment, a graphical user interface element is provided which is an active object, selection of which initiates a process. The active object is converted to a display object indicating completion of the process in response to selection of the active object.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.